The Sapphire Princess Meets a Monster

by Jahnna N. Malcolm

  “I will,” Sabrina replied as she flung the magic dust in the air. “But first I have to save my people.”

  Sabrina looked down and smiled. Her plan was working. The monster was following her!

  She flew closer to the water to make sure the monster could see her. The big dark shadow mirrored her every move. If she turned, it turned. If she flew faster, it swam faster.

  Across the lake Sabrina could see a patch of churning water by the Willow-That-Weeps. The Spinning Pool! She was about to head for it when something caught her eye.

  A sparkle! A very golden sparkle.

  Princess Sabrina shielded her eyes with her hand. The golden light was blinding. Where was it coming from?

  Flash!

  There it was again. Sabrina squinted toward the shore.

  “My boat!” she cried. It was caught in the reeds by Bluebonnet Falls. “That golden light is coming from my boat!”

  Inside the boat was the golden basket. It was glowing.

  Suddenly, Sabrina was being pulled out of the sky!

  “What’s happening to me?” she cried as the light pulled her closer and closer to shore. “Stop!”

  When she was just over the boat, the golden basket leaped into her hands. “My goodness!” she cried in surprise.

  Sabrina gently landed on the grassy shore. For a moment, she forgot all about the Blue Lake Monster. And thought only of the golden basket.

  Sabrina knelt and placed the basket in front of her. Carefully, she looked at the gifts.

  “Oh!”

  There, tied with a sapphire-blue ribbon, was the most beautiful pear the princess had ever seen. Its skin shimmered like polished gold.

  She couldn’t take her eyes off it.

  Sabrina’s mouth began to water. Her fingers twitched.

  “I have to eat it,” she murmured, picking up the pear.

  Sabrina was just about to take a juicy bite when she heard a huge splash in the lake.

  “Nooooooo!” the monster roared, shooting out of the water. It towered above Sabrina’s head. Then it opened its jaws and bent forward.

  The princess froze with the pear in midair.

  This is it, she thought, staring into the beast’s mouth. It’s going to gobble me up.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and waited.

  But she only felt a slight tug. At her fingers.

  Sabrina opened her eyes and stared at her empty hand.

  “My pear!” she gasped.

  The Blue Lake Monster had eaten it. The beast had swallowed the golden fruit in one gulp. And now something odd was happening to the monster.

  Its gray skin turned green. Then it changed to a sickly yellow.

  The monster began to sway, its eyes rolling back in its head. Slowly, slowly, it fell forward.

  “Ooomph!”

  First the body hit the ground. Then the long neck stretched across the grass.

  Finally, the monster’s head came to rest, with its nose in Princess Sabrina’s lap.

  Sabrina stared at the Blue Lake Monster’s head. It was as big as a boat. It lay with its eyes closed, breathing in shaky gusts of air through its nose.

  Sabrina carefully reached up and touched the monster’s nose. The yellow skin was soft, like the petals of a flower.

  The monster sighed at her touch.

  “Poor monster,” Sabrina whispered. “You’re sick.”

  The ragged breathing grew calmer.

  Sabrina’s heart went out to this creature. It looked so sad and helpless.

  “There’s the princess!” a voice cried from behind her. “The monster has her in its clutches.”

  Sabrina turned to see her cousins rounding the bend by Bluebonnet Falls. They were leading many creatures from Blue Lake.

  “Don’t worry, Sabrina, we’ll save you!” Emily shouted as she hiked up her skirt and raced to help the Sapphire Princess.

  Zazz the butterfly clung to the top of Emily’ s wild red hair and ordered, “Faster! Run faster!”

  Gurt and several other gilliwags hopped behind Emily and Zazz, waving wooden oars in the air.

  “Save the princess!” Gurt bellowed.

  “Stay back!” Sabrina cried, wrapping her arms around the monster’s head. She pressed her cheek against its skin. She could hardly hear it breathe. “This creature is sick. Please, don’t hurt it.”

  Princess Emily and the crowd stumbled to a stop. They were confused.

  “But … but I don’t understand,” Emily stammered. “I thought that monster was trying to hurt you.”

  Sabrina looked at her cousin with sad eyes. “That’s what I thought, too. But I think it was only trying to help me.”

  Zazz fluttered above the golden basket that had fallen over on its side. The pears had tumbled onto the ground. Dead flies and ants lay around the golden fruit.

  “Look, everyone!” Zazz cried. “This food … it was poisoned.”

  Demetra narrowed her eyes at the golden basket. “I knew something was wrong. That gift wasn’t from a secret admirer.”

  “It was from a secret enemy,” Emily finished.

  “And it was sooo beautiful,” Zazz finished.

  Sabrina stroked the monster’s lumpy head. “You knew that pear was poisoned, didn’t you? You ate it to save me.”

  Sabrina thought back to the first time the monster had bumped her boat. It was when she touched the golden basket. Then the monster reared out of the water when Sabrina and Zazz were about to sneak a bite of chocolate.

  “We were all wrong,” Sabrina announced. “This creature never tried to hurt me. Everything it did was to help me.”

  The monster moaned and rolled its head to one side.

  Sabrina knew it was in great pain. Tears welled up in her eyes.

  “You poor thing,” she said. “I wish there was something I could do to help you.”

  “Perhaps there is,” a voice whispered across the wind.

  Sabrina lifted her head and looked toward the lake. There, half-hidden in the reeds, was Sage.

  “At the base of Bluebonnet Falls grows a tiny purple flower,” the wisest of the storkz said. “It has the power to heal.” The monster groaned again and Sage added, “But you must be quick. There isn’t much time.”

  Sabrina could have asked Gurt, or even Zazz, to go to the falls. But this was one thing she had to do herself.

  The monster had saved her life. Now she would return the favor.

  The purple flower grew only in one spot, directly behind the waterfall. To pick it, Sabrina had to duck around the rushing water.

  Now the princess knelt before the dying monster. Her shoes were soaked and stained with mud. The sleeves of her dress dripped with water. But she didn’t care. Sabrina had the magic flower.

  It took all her strength to pry open the monster’s thick jaws. Finally, she was able to place the flower on its tongue.

  “Swallow this,” she urged. “It will make you feel better.”

  Demetra and Emily stood with Zazz and the other lake dwellers at a safe distance. Even though the monster seemed sick, they still didn’t trust it.

  Sabrina stroked the monster’s brow. “Please, try to swallow. I want you to live. You have to live.”

  After a few seconds, the creature swallowed.

  “Good. You did it!” Sabrina cheered. “Now relax and let the flower work its magic.”

  Sabrina and her friends watched and waited. The cure seemed to take forever. But ever so slowly, the sickly yellow skin turned back into a nice dark gray.

  Sabrina kept petting the monster’s head. Its breathing was becoming less harsh.

  “That’s a good monster,” she cooed. “You’re getting better. I can see it.”

  A low growl rattled in the monster’s throat. And all of the lake dwellers leaped back in alarm.

  “Sabrina, be careful!” Demetra warned.

  Sabrina ignored her cousin and kept stroking the monster’s nose and brow.

  With each breath, it seemed to grow strong
er. Soon its body began to twitch. Then its eyelids fluttered.

  “It’s waking up,” Sabrina announced.

  Demetra, Emily, and the others took another giant step backward.

  Sabrina held her breath.

  At last the monster opened its eyes. It looked at Sabrina and big tears welled up in its yellow eyes.

  “Please, don’t judge me by the way I look, Princess,” the creature said in a high, lilting voice.

  Sabrina blinked in surprise. The Lake Monster was a girl!

  “I’m afraid I might frighten you,” the monster continued.

  “But I’m not frightened!” Sabrina cried. “I think you’re beautiful.”

  The monster sighed. A deep sigh, full of sorrow. “There was a time when you might have said I was beautiful and everyone would have agreed with you.” Her huge eyes narrowed. “That was before Lord Bleak and the Dreadlings ruled this land.”

  “You mean you haven’t always looked like this?” Sabrina asked.

  “Oh no,” the monster replied in her lovely voice. “I was once a mermaid with sea-green eyes and skin the color of pearls. I was called Oona.”

  “Oona!” Zazz blurted. “I’ve heard stories of Oona.”

  Gurt nodded. “Oona is the Spirit of Blue Lake. They say she has been here since the beginning of time.”

  Oona nodded. “That’s true.”

  “But why have we never seen or heard from you?” Sabrina asked.

  Oona hung her head. “After Lord Bleak cast his spell on me, my friends didn’t recognize me. I scared them and they ran away.”

  “But we wouldn’t run …” Sabrina didn’t finish her sentence. She realized that she had run from Oona. And so had her people.

  “We made a mistake,” Sabrina declared, looking at the crowd.

  Zazz hung her head. “We were wrong.”

  Sabrina knelt in front of the huge creature. Demetra, Emily, and all the creatures of Blue Lake knelt, too.

  “Dear Oona, will you accept our sincerest apology?” Sabrina asked.

  The corners of Oona’s gray lips curled into a smile. “Of course. And let me say that after years of hiding in the Deep Dark, at last I can say I am happy.”

  Everyone cheered. Sabrina stood up and clapped her hands in delight. “Oh, I wish we could celebrate this moment with a feast!”

  Gurt stepped forward. “Princess, we still have the china and the tablecloths.”

  “And all the guests are here,” Zazz added.

  “That’s true. But we have no food to offer anyone.” Sabrina pointed to the picnic basket and the poisoned food beside it. “Not one crumb.”

  Suddenly, a shadow darkened the sky. It swooped over their heads with a rush of wind.

  “Look out!” The lake dwellers clutched their heads and huddled in fear.

  Sabrina looked up, frightened. But her fear soon turned to joy. She skipped over to her cousins and pointed skyward.

  Emily laughed out loud. “Look who’s here!”

  Demetra opened one eye and peeked at the sky. “Well,” she huffed. “It’s about time!”

  A great fire-breathing dragon circled above the crowd. Riding on its back, laughing and waving, was Roxanne, the Ruby Princess.

  Sabrina raced to greet her cousin as soon as the dragon touched down. “You’re here at last!”

  Roxanne wore a ruby-red dress complete with a red satin cape. She tossed the cape over her shoulder and hugged Sabrina. “It’s so good to see you! Did I miss anything?”

  “Miss anything?” Demetra repeated as she and Emily ran to join the princesses. “We’ve had an entire adventure while we waited for you.”

  Roxanne’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, we love a good adventure.” She turned to the green-and-red dragon. “Don’t we, Hapgood?”

  Hapgood was Roxanne’s friend and palace adviser. He lived with the Ruby Princess in the Red Mountains.

  The dragon nodded very formally to the princess. “Life with you is one great adventure. I do enjoy it. It keeps me young.”

  Roxanne patted the dragon’s neck. “That’s the spirit, Happy.”

  Emily draped her arm around Sabrina’s shoulder. “Look at us. We’re all together.”

  “Yes.” Sabrina smiled fondly at her three cousins. “Here we are, the four jewels of our kingdom.”

  Demetra nodded. “Now we all have a very good reason to celebrate. It’s too bad about our picnic, though.”

  “What happened?” Roxanne asked.

  The other three looked at one another. Sabrina spoke first. “It’s a very long story. Let me just say that our basket of food was poisoned.”

  “Who would have done such a thing?” Roxanne asked.

  Demetra lowered her voice. “Lord Bleak and his Dreadlings.”

  “Oh!” Roxanne gasped, putting one gloved hand to her mouth. “Flying here we passed over the Mysterious Forest. Hapgood was certain he saw several Dreadlings running into the woods.”

  “They wore black capes and seemed upset about something,” Hapgood added.

  “They were upset because their awful trick didn’t work,” Demetra cut in. “They tried to poison Sabrina!”

  “Luckily, Oona was there to save me,” Sabrina declared.

  “Oona?” Roxanne cocked her head. “Who’s Oona?”

  Sabrina pointed to the spot where the lake creature had been resting. It was empty.

  “She was just over there by the shore, but she’s gone,” Sabrina said. “I hope she didn’t run away.”

  “What does she look like?” Roxanne asked, glancing around.

  Before, Sabrina would have described Oona as gray and lumpy with fierce, pointed teeth. But now when she thought of Oona, she could only remember her eyes.

  “She has big, golden eyes,” Sabrina said. “They are warm and friendly. But there is also a touch of sadness in them. Her skin is like rose petals, soft and velvety.”

  “She’s quite large,” Demetra added. “Bigger than you, Hapgood. But that doesn’t slow her down in the water.”

  Emily nodded. “She moves very fast and very gracefully through Blue Lake. We think she’s beautiful.”

  Sabrina was glad to see her cousins had changed their minds about the Blue Lake Monster. Now that they knew Oona, they admired and loved her, too.

  Sabrina squinted out over the lake. “It’s too bad we don’t have any food. I was hoping Oona would join us for lunch.”

  “If it’s food you need,” Roxanne said, “I’ve got just the thing. Happy, show my cousins what we’ve brought.”

  Hapgood unfolded one large red wing. Underneath were two huge picnic baskets.

  “Happy packed us a wonderful lunch,” Roxanne explained. “There’s food enough for everyone.”

  Sabrina clapped her hands together. “This is wonderful news! Zazz!” she called to the butterfly. “Hurry and tell everyone that our picnic celebration is about to begin. I have something I have to do.”

  Zazz flew to the gilliwags, who were napping in the reeds. Then she zoomed to the nymphs, who were frolicking in the pool at the base of Bluebonnet Falls. Then she flew to find the striders. They were skating near the shore of Blue Lake.

  Gurt the gilliwag spread a tablecloth on the grass and set out the royal china. Demetra, Emily, and Roxanne unpacked the picnic baskets.

  While everyone prepared for their feast, Sabrina looked for Oona.

  She found her in the murky waters near the Willow-That-Weeps. Oona clutched the golden basket in her mouth.

  “What are you doing?” Sabrina gasped. “Don’t you remember? That basket is poisoned!”

  Oona set the basket on a floating log. “I’m going to take this basket with its poisoned food to the bottom of our lake.”

  Sabrina’s eyes widened. “Below the Deep Dark?”

  Oona nodded. “I’m taking it to a place so deep that no creature will ever find it.”

  “But won’t you join our picnic first?” Sabrina asked. “Roxanne brought an entire feast.”

  Oona
smiled. “I would love to join your feast. But first, I want to make sure that Lord Bleak doesn’t harm one more creature in our beautiful lake. Then I’ll return.”

  Sabrina stepped onto the floating log near the lake creature. She wrapped her arms around Oona’s neck. “You’ve done much to help us. Is there any way we can repay your kindness?”

  Oona closed her eyes in thought. When she opened them again she said, “I have been so lonely for so long. The best gift you could give me is your friendship.”

  “Of course!” Sabrina promised. “You will always have my friendship.”

  With that, Oona scooped up the poisoned basket and plunged into the lake.

  Sabrina stared at the ripple of water where Oona had just been.

  And for one moment, Sabrina was certain she saw a mermaid with sea-green eyes and skin the color of pearls.

  Read the next sparkling adventure in the Jewel Kingdom series!

  The Emerald Princess Plays a Trick

  Turn the page for a special sneak peek!

  Princess Emily slowly peeked around the trunk of the big elm tree. From where she hid, she could see Staghorn, the palace gardener. He was trimming the mulberry bushes that lined the path to her home in the Greenwood.

  “Watch this,” Emily whispered to her friend Arden, who stood a few feet behind her. “This is going to be so funny!”

  Staghorn aimed his clippers at a small bush. Just as he snapped them shut, Emily tugged on the string she was holding. The bush leaped away from the dwarf.

  “Hey!” Staghorn cried, nearly falling backward. “What’s going on?”

  Emily covered her mouth. Her green eyes sparkled. Her red hair shook with laughter.

  Staghorn adjusted the glasses perched on the end of his nose. “My eyes must be playing tricks on me,” he muttered.

  He opened his clippers again, leaned toward the bush, and snapped the blades together.

  Emily tugged on the string once more. The bush sprang in the air.